Dark Curse
by harusame90
Summary: Born into a world of ice, slave to her evil father, Sakura Haruno knew paralyzing fear as a child. Only by escaping with her mysterious gifts unbroken did she survive to claim her great Shinobi heritage as a Dragonseeker.
1. prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or Dark Curse: a Carpathian novel.

**Dark Curse**

**Prologue:**

The cold should have made her shiver, but it was fear, terrible bone-chilling fear that seized Sakura, causing such tremors they were impossible to control. She huddled on the floor of the ice-caves, studying the walls of her prison. The ice was beautiful, walls think and blue with amazing formations hanging from the ceiling and rising from the floor like a forest of multicolored crystal. She hunched down, watching the lights flicker across the ice—creating glittering, dazzling displays on the walls. All the while, her heart beat too fast and she choked on rising terror.

A soft whisper in her mind helped to steady her, to keep her centered and calm when she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. She was eight years old now—today. She looked down at her arms and wrists, covered in bite marks, and scars from teeth gnawing through her skin to get at her veins. Her stomach lurched. Today was the last day anyone would tear at her flesh and drink her blood. Today she would escape.

'_I am so scared.'_ Even in her mind, using telepathy, her voice trembled.

All at once she felt warmth filter through her mind. The sensation spread through her body, driving away the chill and giving her courage.

'_**You will not be alone. We will aid you in your escape. You must be brave, little one.'**_

'_Will you come with me, Aunt Sumi? Will you both come?' _

She knew she sounded plaintive and afraid, but she couldn't help it. She'd never been aboveground. The idea of going alone into an unfamiliar world was paralyzing. Without her aunts, she would have no way of protecting herself. They had both taught her, thrusting as many skills and jutsus into her brain and memories as possible, but she was still a child in a child's body. Thin. Weak. Pale. A mop of petal pink hair she could never control and little else.

'_**That may not be possible, Sakura, and if we cannot, you must go by yourself. You must get far away from this place and hide your talents and abilities so no one will ever imprison you again. Do you understand? You cannot in any way appear different in the outside world?'**_

They had told her of the outside world. Long, lonely nights they had whispered to her of places aboveground. Of the sun and sea, of forests of trees, of living animals and birds that flew free. They had filled her mind—and her heart—with images so beautiful they had stolen her breath.

'_Why must I hide my gift in the world outside?' _

Sakura shivered again, running her hands up and down her body in an effort to warm herself. It wasn't the temperature of the ice-caves—she could regulate her body temperature when she remembered to think about it—but the idea of leaving was nearly as terrifying as the idea of staying. Here she at least had the aunts. Outside—she didn't even know what to expect.

'_**It is always better to blend in, Sakura. Orochimaru is a cruel man— and there are others like him. You have powerful chakra within you and others will want it. Learn in secret and only use it when you must and for good or to save your life. You cannot let others know.'**_

'_Come with me,' _She pleaded again.

'_**If we can, but no matter what, you must leave this place. You see what they do to us—what they will do to you. Your chakra will call to them and they will take everything from you.'**_

Sakura closed her eyes, the trembling turning almost violent. Oh yes, she had seen. Torture. Horrible torture. Horrible black jutsus, drawing forth demons with red glowing eyes and the sickening stench of evil clinging to them. She would hear screams until the day she died, the screams of others begging for mercy, begging to be killed.

She couldn't let her father or grandfather know of the chakra growing within her. She could never let on that the aunts spoke to her and taught her, filling her mind with everything they knew so that as the chakra in her grew, she would have the knowledge to accompany it. The two men would try to wrest everything she was from her, and try to control her if they couldn't. In the end she would be just like the others, torn apart while they still lived, experimented on, and eaten alive piece by piece until madness and pain were all that was left.

This was the reason that she had to escape. To leave the only home she'd ever known and go out into a world she knew only through the memories of her two aunts. Before that could happen, however, she would be forced to endure her father's and grandfather's sharp, wicked teeth one more time. She covered her eyes and bit back a sob.

'_**Sakura! You are Dragonseeker, you can do this. We are strong. We endure. We do not ever succumb to evil. Do you understand?! You must escape.'**_

Auntie Sumi always lectured her, but there was love in her voice. Worry, Determination. Auntie Ami sounded sad and weak but the love was there as well, although these days, she rarely wasted energy on talking. Sakura knew something was wrong, terribly wrong, and she was frightened of losing the two of them.

"I don't want to be alone," she whispered aloud into the freezing cold of the bluish chamber. She didn't say it in her mind to her aunts, because she didn't want them to know she was paralyzed with fear of leaving. This terrible place of pain and death and cold was her home and here at least she had the aunts, and she knew what to expect. Outside—outside she would be alone in a foreign world.

Sakura's body suddenly jerked upright. At the same time she felt the invader spreading through her brain like sludge. A cry slipped through her lips at the intrusion. Her instinct was to struggle against the command, but she forced her will to lie quiet, to pretend to be subdued. It was difficult when everything in her shuddered and withdrew from that spreading stain.

'_**Do not fight. You must not fight,' **_Aunt Sumi's voice whispered. _**'Save you strength. Let him think he has control. We will strike at the same moment. This will be the last time, child. The last time…' **_

Sakura choked on the sob welling up in her throat. To have someone else inside of her, to feel evil invading her body, pushing at her mind and forcing his will on her caused bile to rise, flooding her throat and mouth with burning acid. She took a step, then another, like a puppet controlled by strings. She couldn't prevent her instincts to fight. She resisted the invasive presence, trying to throw him out of her mind, a small rebellion that earned immediate retaliation.

Her body jerked again and pain pierced her skull, like ice picks drilling holes through skin and bone. The sensation of spiders crawling on her skin, hundreds of them, swarming, engulfing her, nesting in her hair, and biting at her scalp, had her frantically slapping at her body. She opened her mouth wide to scream, but nothing came out. She knew Roshi—her father—had no patience with tears or pleading. It infuriated him to listen to screaming, or to a childish voice. Her earliest memory was of him shaking her, snarling like one of the captured wolves he occasionally brought into his lair to torment.

Whatever her memories, this was her way of life. The aunts had told her a child should be loved and treasured, never used for food, but it was only memories they shared of their mother's childhood that all of them could really depend on. Not even the aunts had really experienced much more than what Sakura's life was like. And memories – especially ancient ones—could be faulty.

'_He is forcing me into the chamber.' _ She tried to force down the rising panic, to keep herself from fighting, from exposing her abilities, but her sense of self-preservation was strong.

'_**You are coming to us,' **_her aunt reminded her. _**'Think only of that. You are leaving this terrible place to go to a new life, one where they cannot touch you ever again.'**_

Sakura nodded and lessened her fight response. She couldn't lose it altogether or Roshi might suspect something. She was smart enough to know that he sought to control her through fear. If she wasn't afraid enough, he would find away to incite her terror so he could keep her under his thumb and biddable.

Sakura counted each step as she walked the icy halls. She already knew the exact number—she had made this journey many, many times before. Thirty-seven steps through the corridor and then her body would jerk to the right, and go through the entrance into the large chamber where Roshi and Orochimaru always held their ritual ceremonies. The long hall was really a tunnel with a bluish ceiling and thick ice walls. Under her feet the ice was slick and solid, almost crystal clear, always gleaming brightly from the orbs of light in the sconces. The lights flickered along the walls, revealing the rainbow of colors, gleaming like jewels embedded in the frozen world.

She loved the beauty, sculptures of orange-red and purplish-blue rising sharply from the floor, bursting into sparkling fountains frozen in place waiting for light to hit them to come alive. She moved around the familiar shapes using short jerky steps until she was in the middle of the huge chamber. Gigantic columns rose to the cathedral ceilings, marking every few feet. Ancient weapons lined one wall and straight ahead, encased in ice, were two perfect dragons, one red and one blue.

Sakura glanced up, her breath catching in her throat as it always did at the sight of her aunts. Imprisoned not only by ice, but caught in a powerful shape that was not their true form. She couldn't shift yet, but she felt she was getting close. The aunts had embedded the knowledge deep in her mind so that she wouldn't ever forget the process, but she hadn't worked up the courage to actually shift. And the aunts had forbidden her to try where Roshi or Orochimaru would feel the surge of chakra.

The red dragon had her great eye pressed against the ice. As Sakura watched, the lid slowly closed and then opened again. The small acknowledgment gave her the strength to look directly at the man who stood in the center of the room, a frown on his face. Roshi glared at her, beckoning with a long finger.

The lines in his face had deepened since the last time she'd seen him and that had only been a couple days earlier. His hair had darkened from coppery red to deep brown. His eyes were sunken and beneath them were darker circles. The moment his gaze fell on her, he began to breath harder, the air coming out in great puffs of excitement. In one hand he held a ritual ceremony knife and Sakura's heart began to pound.

'_He has the knife!'_

Teeth tearing at her flesh were bad enough, but the sharp blade slicing, metal against skin and tissue, invading her body and bringing with it the screams of past victims. Screams she couldn't drown out for weeks afterward. The pleas for mercy haunted her dreams and clung like ice to her veins so that she felt like she was going insane until time finally melted them away.

Sakura couldn't help that spurt of adrenaline and the surge of chakra that came with it, the instinctive retreat, breaking out of the stumbling steps to withdraw. Roshi snarled, his lips drawing back to reveal his blood stained teeth.

"Get over here!" His face was a mask of hatred. "You are nothing, cheap fodder to feed the genius of my existence. Nothing! A worm crawling on the ground to service greatness." He pointed to the icy floor and for a moment she thought to fight him.

'_**NO! You must do as he says. He cannot know of the chakra within you. He will imprison you as Orochimaru has done to us. This is the only way, Sakura.'**_

Aunt Sumi's voice whispered, cajoled, pleaded and even ordered.

All of that would never have been enough to overcome Sakura's instincts for survival and her revulsion of the knife and Roshi, but there was a stark fear underlying each word her aunt spoke. Sakura allowed her body to bend, to go on all fours, to crawl across the ice floor the cold piercing her knees. She allowed the sensation, not regulating her body temperature so the distraction of the cold could help her to calm down.

Roshi stood for a moment, hunched over, whispering to himself, his eyes changing from green to blue. Sakura winced. Her eyes often changed color depending on her mood, and it was the one thing that tied her to Roshi. The one trait she had to acknowledge they shared—and that meant the blood of a monster ran in her veins.

He stooped a strange expression on his face as he glanced around the chamber. One hand dropped to the top of her head, his palm stroking what could have been a caress over her pale pink tresses. He spoke in a whisper, his voice rusty and hoarse. "Get out. Get out before you are consumed."

Sakura blinked up at him, puzzled by the strange rituals he always invoked before he caught her by her thin shoulders and yanked her to her feet. His eyes glowed a ruby red, shining with madness as he turned her wrist up and slashed the blade across it.

She cried out, trying to suppress the shock of panic and pain as the knife cut through flesh to bone, freeing the screams of multiple past victims. The shadows of life still clinging to the weapon that had tortured and killed them. Roshi pressed his mouth to her wrist and began to suck greedily, his teeth biting and scraping like a dog would a bone. He made hideous slurping noises, the sound mingling with the cries of the dead.

Tears burned behind her lids, blurred her vision and choked in her throat. The aunts were right, she had to escape. It mattered little what was waiting in the outside world, she couldn't survive this torment day after day.

'_**Stay strong, little one. He is nearly sated.'**_

She clung to that, knowing that the aunts were always aware when Roshi was about to stop feeding. She felt weak and dizzy, her knees sagging. And then everything in her went still. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Goose bumps rose on her arms and a shiver of apprehension slid down her spine. _**He **_was coming. If Roshi was a monster, her grandfather was the living epitome of evil. She could feel his presence long before he ever entered the chamber.

Roshi visibly shuddered as he lifted__his head and shoved Sakura behind him. Sakura took the opportunity to swipe her tongue across the wound, the healing agents in her saliva sealing her skin.

The scent of decayed flesh heralded Orochimaru's arrival. He entered, his right hand rapped around a walking staff, as he slowly walked into the chamber. The walking staff was a weapon of amazing power and could be—and often was—wielded to administer pain. The long robes covering his surprisingly muscular form rustled with every step he took, swishing across the ice floor, picking up crystals so that the hem collected shards of glistening white. His sickly pale skin and yellow eyes gave him the look of a snake, an animal associated with evil, not unlike the man.

Sakura felt the surge of chakra and knew it emanated from the walking staff rather than from her grandfather. Roshi cowered from the snake like man as he approached. She knew Orochimaru was one of the oldest mages, and the master of both light and dark jutsu. His teachings had been the foundation of not only the race of mages, but of the shanobi people as well. Her aunts had educated her in the terrible family history of kidnap, rape, murder, and war. All because of this one man and his search for immortality.

Orochimaru stretched a pale arm toward her, his fingers long and thin, the nails sharp like claws. He beckoned.

Roshi shoved Sakura away. "You will not touch her. You have your own supply."

'_**Come close, Sakura, now while they bicker over you. Come closer to the wall and aid us in breaking free.'**_

"I can no longer use them as you well know. They have become far too powerful to control. I need the book. We must find the book." Orochimaru shuffled closer to Sakura, his claw like fingers reaching for her. "Once I have the book, they will not be able to defy me."

Roshi swept Sakura farther behind him. "This one is mine and you will not touch her."

"Do not presume to give me orders." The voice bellowed in the vast chambers. Orochimaru stood to his full height, Roshi shrinking before him. "I grow old, but I still have my abilities and you do not. Never forget that."

Sakura inched closer to the wall, all the while gathering the energy in the room.

"You cannot even control your own children. As sick as we are we still defy you! You force me to bring you my own offspring, but you kill them with your greed. You cannot have this one."

"You will give her to me." Orochimaru swung his staff up, the tip pointing at his son.

Sakura seized the opportunity, pulling every scrap of energy from the staff she could and directing it toward the ice wall. At the same time, the aunts connected their chakra with hers. The massive wall bubbled outward toward the chamber. Great shards fell off as the ice spider webbed, and then fragmented.

"Stop them!" Orochimaru leapt away from the splintering ice as he yelled the warning.

The bright red dragon burst through the ice, claws stretched toward Roshi as the blue dragon bent its wing to Sakura.

'_**Now! Hurry! Climb on.' **_Aunt Ami called to her.

Sakura didn't hesitate. She jumped agilely onto the wing, scrambled up the sloping membrane and swung her leg over the dragons back. Immediately the dragon reared back on its legs, great wings flapping violently creating a windstorm, and blowing the men backward. Orochimaru lost his grip on the walking staff. Sakura concentrated on it, funneling the wind straight at the thick wooded staff. It rolled to the far side of the chamber. The blue dragon then took to the air.

'_**There is not much time. Go, Ami, flee while you can,' **_Sumi pleaded with her sister while she flung her body between the men and the girl on the dragons back.

Sakura could see both dragons were weak. Already their skin color was fading. The effort to keep the two mages at bay was already taking its toll. Sitting on Ami's back, she realized they were starved, and had been for years. Orochimaru only allowed them the barest of sustenance to keep them from utilizing their chakra. Of the two, Ami was the weakest, so Sumi tried to give her sister time to reach the surface and escape.

Sakura looked down to see Roshi creeping toward the red dragon. Sumi flapped her wings to keep Orochimaru on the floor and away from the all-powerful staff.

'_Look Out!!!!'_ Sakura tried to warn her aunt, but the warning came a heartbeat to late.

Roshi plunged the ceremonial knife into the chest of the red dragon. Ami screamed, as her sister sank to the floor.

'_**Get off. Run! I will hold them off as long as I can.'**_ Ami extended her wing to allow Sakura to crawl off onto a ledge far above the chamber.

'_**Go with her, Ami,' **_Sumi pleaded

'_Yes, please come with me' _Sakura begged.

Ami shook her head _**'I will not leave my sister. Go, little one. Run and forget this place. Do not look back, be free and find happiness.' **_

Sakura clutched the icy wall. She still had to find her way out of the maze of tunnels to the surface. She looked below one last time at the only home she had ever known.

Orochimaru regained his footing and held up his hand. The staff hesitated and then flew across the room to his awaiting hand.

"Be still or you will die," He commanded, then turned to his son. "You fool" he hissed out at Roshi. "Look what you've done."

The red dragon continued to fight, spilling blood across the ice floor in bright crimson streaks.

Orochimaru pointed the staff at the blue dragon. "Be still or I will kill your sister."

Sumi ceased all movement and lay panting on the ice. Ami settled next to her sister, nuzzling her with her long neck and tongue in an effort to save her.

Sakura held back a sob by pressing her hand tightly against her mouth.

'_**Go! Before her sacrifice is in vain,'**_ Ami ordered

So Sakura turned and ran leaving it all behind, her monstrous father and grandfather, the torture they put her through, and the horrible memories. But as she ran tears slipped from her haunted emerald eyes, because she was also leaving behind her most beloved aunts and the only home she had ever had.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or Dark Curse: a Carpathian novel.

**Dark Curse**

**Chapter One:**

"Sakura, let's get out of here," Kago Ki said. "It's getting dark and there's nothing here." He shouldered his caving gear, not surprised that they hadn't found an entrance to an ice cave. If no one had discovered the cave in the Shanobi Mountains by this time, he doubted if the place even existed.

Sakura Haurno ignored him, continuing to scan the mountainside for the smallest crack that might reveal the presence of a cave. She wasn't wrong—not this time. She had felt a chakra surge the moment she set foot on the upper slopes of the mountain. She took a deep breath and pressed a hand over her pounding heart. This was it. This was the place she had spent her life searching for. She would recognize that flow of chakra anywhere. She knew every weave, every jutsu, her body absorbing the gathering chakra so that veins sizzled and nerve endings burned with the electrical current building inside of her.

"I've got to go with Kago on this one," Izumo Kotsu agreed. "This place gives me the creeps. We've been on a lot of mountains, but this one doesn't like us." He gave a nervous laugh. "Besides, it's getting dicey up here."

"No one says 'dicey' anymore," Sakura murmured, running her hand along the face of the rock looking for threads of chakra. The two men were not only her climbing partners but her closest friends. Although, at the moment she wished she'd left them behind, because she new she was right. The cave was here she just had to find the entrance.

"Whatever," Izumo snapped. "It's getting dark and there's nothing here but mist. And this fog is creeping me out, so let's go."

Sakura spared the two men an impatient glance and then surveyed the countryside. Ice and snow glittered, coating the surrounding mountains with what appeared to be sparkling gems. Far below, despite the gathering dusk, she could see castles, farms and churches. Sheep dotted the meadows and in the distance she could see the river churning. Overhead, birds cried, filling the sky then diving toward her only to break off abruptly and circle again. The wind shifted continuously, biting at her face and every bit of exposed skin, and causing her thickly bound hair to whip in the breeze. Occasionally, a rock would fall down the slope and bounce off the ledge as it fell to the hillside below.

Gorges and ravines cut through the snow-capped mountains, plants clung to the sides of the rocks and shivered naked along the plateaus. She could see the entrances to several caves and felt a strong pull as if they were trying to tempt her to leave her current search. But, she needed to be here—in this spot—this place. She had studied the geography carefully and knew, deep within the earth, a massive network of ice caves had formed.

The higher she climbed, the thicker the white mist surrounding her became. With each step, the ground subtlety shifted and the birds overhead shrieked louder. Ordinary things, yes, but the subtle sense of unease, the whispering voice begging her to leave before it was too late, told her this was a place with chakra protection. And although the wind continued to blow in a shrieking wail, the mist remained a thick veil shrouding the upper slopes.

"Come on, Sakura," Kago tried again. "It took us forever to get the permits; we can't keep wasting our time on the wrong area."

It _had_ taken considerable effort to get the permits for her study, but she had managed the usual was—using her gifts to persuade those who disagreed with her. Due to global warming concerns, the ice caves needed immediate study. Unique microorganisms called extremophiles thrived in the harsh environment of the caves, and far away from sunlight or traditional nutrients. Scientists hoped those microbes could aid in the fight against cancer or even produce an antibiotic capable of wiping out the newest emerging superbugs.

Her research project was fully funded and, although she was considerably young at the age of twenty-four, she was acknowledged as the leading expert in the field of ice-cave study and preservation. She'd logged more hours exploring, mapping and studying ice caves around the world than most researchers twice her age. She'd also discovered more superbugs than any other caver.

"Didn't it strike you as odd that no one wanted us in this particular region? They were fine giving us permits to look virtually anywhere else," she pointed out.

Part of the reason she'd persisted when no caves had been mapped in this particular area was because the department head had acted so strange—strange and rather vague when they had gone over the map. The natural geographical deduction after studying the area was that a vast network of ice caves lay beneath the mountain, yet the entire region seemed to have been overlooked.

Kago and Izumo had exhibited the exact same behavior, as if they didn't notice the structure of the mountain, even though both men were superb at finding ice caves from the geographical surface. Persuasion had been difficult, but all of that work was for this moment—this cave—this find.

"It's here," she said with absolute confidence.

Her heart continued to pound, not at the excitement of the find, but because walking had become such a chore, her body not wanting to continue. She suppressed the urge to run and pressed on through the safeguards, following the trail of power—judging how close she was to the entrance by how strong her need to run was.

Voices rose in the wind, swirling in the mist, telling her to go back, to leave while she still could. The warnings became much stronger and more insistent as she made her way along the slope searching for anything at all that might signal the opening to the caves. All the while she kept all senses alert to the possibility that monsters might lurk beneath the surface. But she had to enter—to find the place of her nightmarish childhood, to find the two dragons that she dreamed of nightly.

"Sakura!" this time Kago's voice was sharp with protest. "We have to get out of here. Now!"

Sakura barley spared him a second glance; instead she stood for a long moment studying the outcropping that jutted out from the smoother rock. Thick snow covered most of it, but there was and oddity to the formation that kept drawing her gaze back. She approached the rock cautiously. Several smaller rocks lay at the foot of the larger boulders, and strangely enough, not a single snowflake stuck to them. She didn't touch the smaller rocks; instead she studied them from every angle, carefully observing the way they were arranged.

"Something's out of place." She murmured. "It's the rocks. See, they should be arranged differently." So she leaned down and pushed the small pile of rocks into a different pattern.

Instantly the wind wailed, the sound rising to a shriek as it rushed toward her, blowing debris into the air so that it shot at her like small missiles. The ground shifted beneath them, as the mountain creaked in protest. Bats took to the air, pouring out of some unseen hole, a short distance from them, filling the sky until it was nearly black. The crack along the outcropping grew wider, while the mountain shuddered, shook, and groaned as if alive.

"I told you we shouldn't be here." Kago nearly sobbed.

Sakura took a deep breath and held her palm out toward the narrow slit in the mountainside, the only entrance—it seemed—to this particular cave. Chakra blasted out at her, and all around her, she could feel the safeguards, thick and ominous, protecting the opening.

"You're right, Kago," She agreed. "We shouldn't." Slowly she backed away from the outcropping and gestured toward the trail. "Let's go. And hurry." For the first time she was really aware of the time, the way the gathering darkness spread like a stain across the sky.

She would return tomorrow morning—without her two companions. She had no idea what was left in the elaborate ice caverns below, but she wasn't about to expose two of her closest friends to any potential danger. The safeguards that were in place would confuse them, so they wouldn't remember the location of the cave, but she knew how to reverse the jutsu so that the guards didn't affect her.

Ice caves themselves were dangerous. The continual pressure from overlying ice caps often sent great frozen chunks of ice blasting out of the walls, capable of killing anything they struck. But this particular cave harbored dangers far outweighing natural ones and she didn't want her friends anywhere near it.

The ground shifted again, throwing them all off balance. Izumo grabbed Sakura to keep her from falling, as Kago gripped the outcropping, fingers digging into the widening crack. Beneath their feet, something slithered under the ground, raising the surface several inches as it raced toward the rocks.

"What the hell is that?!" Izumo shouted, backpedaling. He thrust Sakura behind him in an effort to protect her as the dirt and snow spouted into a geyser inches from his feet.

Kago screamed his voice high-pitched and frightened as he fell backward, the unseen creature racing toward him beneath the earth.

"Get the hell up! Move!" Sakura yelled trying to get around Izumo's muscular frame to cast a holding jutsu. As he swung around, Izumo's backpack knocked her off her feet and sent her rolling down the steep slope. Her birthmark—a strangely shaped dragon on the left side of her stomach—suddenly flared to life, burning her skin and glowing red-hot.

Two dark green tentacles burst from the snow-covered ground—slick with blood so dark it was almost black—emerging on both sides of Kago's left ankle. The sound of bubbling mud rose along with the noxious, putrid stench of rotten eggs and sulfur. The smell was so overpowering the three of them gagged. The bulbous like tops of the tentacles reared back, revealing coiled snake heads that struck with brutal speed. Two curved, venomous fangs clamped down on Kago's ankle sinking nearly to the bone. Kago screamed and flailed in terror as his blood dripped onto the pristine snow.

The small gap in the ground began to widen into a large hole. The tentacles began to retreat toward the hole, slithering across the surface, dragging Kago with it. His screams of fear and pain grew louder, shrill with panic.

Izumo flung himself forward, gripped Kago under his arms and pulled with all his might. "Hurry, Sakura!"

Sakura scrambled to the top of the slope. The mist swirled and thickened around her, making it difficult to see. She raised her arms as she ran, gathering as much chakra as she could, unconcerned that her companions might see, knowing she was Kago's only chance for survival. Not once since leaving the ice caves had she used the wealth of knowledge her aunts had instilled in her, not until that moment. Chakra flooded through her. Her mind opened, expanded, reached deep into the well of knowledge and found the exact works she needed.

"It's too strong." Izumo dug in his heels and held on to Kago with every ounce of strength he possessed. "Stop wasting time and help me, damn it. Come on, Kago, fight!"

Kago ceased his screaming and began to fight in earnest, kicking with his free leg in an attempt to dislodge the two snake heads.

The vine threw more tentacles out, the greenish black stems writhing hideously, looking for a target. The teeth in Kago's ankle sank deeper, sawing flesh and bone in an effort to keep its prey.

Sakura flung herself forward, lifting her face to the sky as she muttered the words she found locked deep within her mind.

Lighting zigzagged across the sky, lighting the edge of the clouds. The air around them charged raising the hairs on their bodies. Sakura felt the electricity snapping and sizzling in her fingertips and focused on the thinner spaces between the long, thick bodies and the bulbous heads of the snake vines.

White-hot light streaked across the short distance and pierced the necks of the creatures. The smell of rotting flesh burst from the severed vines, as they dropped limply to the ground—leaving the teeth, with the heads attached, buried deep in Kago's ankle. The rest of the tentacles reared back in shock, than burrowed beneath the dirt and snow.

Kago grasped one of the heads about to pull it out. "No!" Sakura protested. "Leave it. We have to get out of here right now."

"It burns like acid," Kago complained. His face was pale, nearly as white as the snow, with beads of sweat dotting his forehead.

Sakura shook her head "We have to get off this mountain, now. We can't risk removing it, at least not until I can take a look at it."

She took his arm, slung it over her shoulder and signaled for Izumo to grab his other one. They steadied Kago between them and hurried off the slope and onto the path to their right.

"Just what the hell was that thing?!" Izumo hissed, his eyes meeting hers over Kago's head. "I've never seen a snake like that before."

"It had two heads, didn't it?" Kago asked, anxiety making him hyperventilate. "I didn't get a good look before it struck. Do you think it's poisonous?"

"It isn't attacking your central nervous system Kago," Sakura said, "at least not yet. I know a few things about medicine, so I can take a look when we reach the car. Then we'll get you back down to the village and find a doctor."

The mountain rumbled ominously, shaking beneath their feet. Sakura glanced up through the swirling white mist, where creaks began to appear in the snow.

Izumo swore, strengthened his grip and stared sprinting down the thin, winding trail. "It's going to come down on us."

Kago gritted his teeth against the pain radiating from his ankle. "I can't believe this is happening." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I feel sick."

Sakura kept her eyes on the mountain behind them as they raced along the slippery trail, dragging Kago every step of the way. "Faster. Keep moving." She urged.

The ground shifted as fans of snow slid toward the slope below them. The sight was dazzling, hypnotic even. Izumo shook his head several times, than looked at Sakura, puzzled. He slowed and looked around at the undulating snow. "Sakura? I can't remember what happened. Where are we?"

"We're about to be crushed by an avalanche. Kago's hurt and we have to run like hell. Now Move It!!!" She yelled with every ounce of command she could muster while on the run. Fortunately, both men obeyed, concentrating on getting down the steep slope as quickly as possible, and not asking anymore questions.

The safeguards protecting the cave were not only lethal, but they confused and disoriented any travelers who stumbled across them. The warning system was usually enough to make people so uneasy they left the area, but once triggered, the guards fought to erase memories or even kill to protect the cave.

It was definitely the place she had been looking for. Now all she had to do was survive in order to come back and discover the long-buried secrets of her past.

Izumo stumbled, and Kago screamed as one of the snake heads slammed into a particularly dense pile of snow and ice, shoving the teeth even farther into his flesh.

Sakura felt the mountain tremble. At first there was silence and then a distant rumbling. The sound increased in strength and volume until it became a deafening roar. The snow slid, slowly at first, than it picked up speed, churning and roiling, rushing toward them. Sakura forced down her panic and reached into the well of knowledge once again. Her aunts had never appeared human to her, but their voices had, and the immense wealth of information they had collected over the centuries had been stored in Sakura's memories.

She was Dragonseeker, a great shinobi heritage. She was human, with courage and strength. She was mage, able to gather chakra and use it for good. All of her ancestors were powerful beings. The blood of three mingled in her veins, yet she belonged in none of their worlds. Instead she walked her chosen path—alone, but always guided by the wisdom of the aunts.

Sakura felt the strength pour into her, felt the crackle of electricity as the sky lit up with lightning. Once more she looked over her shoulder, and sent a command to the wilds of nature to counteract the safeguards.

The snow suddenly stopped moving, sprayed in the air, frozen in place, curled over their heads like a giant wave.

"Run!" Sakura shouted. "We have to get the hell off this mountain."

Night was falling and the avalanche was not the worst thing they might encounter. The wind had stilled, but the voices remained, shrieking warnings she dared not ignore. They gripped Kago and half ran, half slid down the slope.

Kago left behind streaks of blood as they skidded over the icy surface. They were sweating profusely by the time they made it to the bottom. Locating their car was an easy task. In this particular part of Konoha, most locals used carts pulled by horses. Cars weren't a common sight at all and theirs, as small as it was, looked far too modern in a place centuries old.

Izumo dragged Kago through the meadow to where the car was parked beneath a barren tree. Sakura turned back toward the mountain, blew out a breath, than clapped her hands together tree times. There was an odd, expectant pause. Then the wave rolled, as snow dropped. The mountain slid, raising a cloud of white spray into the air.

"Sakura," Kago gasped. "You have to get these teeth out. My leg burns like hell and I swear something's crawling inside of my leg."

He was sprawled on the small backseat, his skin nearly gray, Sweat soaked his clothes and his breathing came in ragged gasps.

Sakura knelt in the dirt and examined the hideous heads. She knew what they were—Orochimaru's hybrids, bred to do his bidding. She'd seen the beginnings of them in her nightmares. The snakes injected a poisonous brew, including tiny microscopic parasites, into their victim's body. The organisms would eventually take over his body and then his brain, until he was a mere puppet to be used by Orochimaru.

"I'm sorry, Kago," she said softly. "The teeth are barbed and have to be removed carefully."

"Then you've seen this before?" Kago gripped her wrist and held her close to him. He was rocking back and forth in pain. "I don't know why, but the fact that you know what they are makes me feel a lot better."

It sure the hell didn't make her feel any better. She'd been a mere child when they dragged her into the laboratory. The sights and smells had been so horrendous she had tried to forget them. The stench of blood, the screams, the grotesque tiny worms in a putrid ball, wiggling in a feeding frenzy, consuming blood and human flesh.

Sakura took a deep breath and let it out. They didn't have much time. She needed to get Kago to a master healer who could handle such things, but she could at least slow the deterioration.

Izumo looked around him, then back up at the mountain, now quiet and still. White mists swirled, but the voices were gone. Overhead the clouds grew heavier and darker, but the mountain looked pristine—untouched—certainly not as if anyone had climbed it and been attacked.

"Sakura?" he sounded as puzzled as he looked. "I can't remember where we were or how these snakes attacked Kago. Don't snakes need warm weather? What the hell is wrong with me?"

"It doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting these teeth out of Kago's leg and getting him to the inn where someone who knows what they're doing can help him."

Someone with natural healing abilities. If they were in the vicinity where she had been held as a child, then it stood to reason someone would know how to treat a mage wound.

She closed her eyes to block out the sight of Kago's gray face and Izumo's anxious one. Deep inside she found her calm center. She could almost hear the whisper of her aunts' voices, directing her as the information flooded her mind.

"There might be someone much better at taking these out," Sakura said. "We can get you to the inn fast and the couple who own it might be able to find someone for us who has dealt with this before."

Kago shook his head. "I can't stand it, Sakura. If you don't take them out now, I'm going to rip them out. I can't fucking stand it anymore."

She nodded her understanding and reached beneath her jacket for the knife on her tool belt. "Let's get it done then. Izumo, get in the backseat on the other side and hold Kago's shoulders." More than anything, she didn't want Izumo where the tainted blood might get on him. The tiny microorganisms were dangerous to everyone.

Izumo obeyed her without question, as Sakura studied the first snake head. The hybrid was part plant, part living animal, and all frightening. It was meant to take over a person, no matter the species, and bring them under Orochimaru's control. It hadn't just been shinobi and humans he had tortured, but his own people as well. No one, not even his own family, was safe. Sakura and the aunts were living proof of that.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, slamming the door on memories that were too painful, too frightening to remember when she needed to concentrate. She had rarely used her healing abilities on anyone else in the last few years. In her childhood, she'd made that mistake on several occasions. While traveling with the gypsies, she'd knit broken bones, healed a wound from a blade, removed harmful bacteria from children's lungs. At first the people would be grateful, but inevitably they would come to fear her.

_**Never show that you are different. You must blend in wherever you are. Learn the language and the customs. Dress the way they dress. Speak as they speak. Cloak who and what you are and never trust anyone.**_

She liked Izumo and Kago—very much. They had worked together for several years, but she had been very careful never show them that she was different in anyway.

"Sakura." Kago's pleading voice forced her thoughts back to the task at hand. She steadied herself and gave him a reassuring nod. They were used to following her lead so it was only natural that they would look to her now. She took another breath and let it out, pushing down the revulsion welling up inside her.

The words to the healing chant rose out of that same bank of knowledge as she repeated them under her breath. She slid the razor-sharp knife beneath Kago's skin and found the barb.

The ancient shanobi language she'd learned as a child came easily to her. she might be rusty, having never used it other than to murmur it to herself before she fell asleep, the words having always been soothing to her.

As she whispered the healing works, she blocked Kago's pain. The fang curved into the skin, growing wider, digging deeper, and at the end near the point was a small barb that curved in the opposite direction. She had to slit the skin carefully to allow the points on either side to become loose enough to slide without further damaging Kago's leg.

At first she used her human sight, blocking all other ability to see until she had the barb out. Only then did she allow herself to look with the eyes of a mage. Tiny white worms writhed and burrowed, swarming into the cells to reproduce as quickly as possible. Her stomach lurched. It took tremendous effort to shed her awareness of her own thoughts and physical self and become the blaze of healing white chakra pouring into Kago's wound to burn the organisms as quickly as she found them.

The wormlike creatures tried to hide from the light as they quickly reproduced. She tried to be thorough, but Kago squirmed and moaned, distracting her. Then he reached down to his other ankle, trying to yank the snake head free.

Abruptly she found herself back in her own body, for a moment she was disoriented and panic-stricken. "Kago Stop! Leave it. I'll take care of it."

She was too late. He screamed as he yanked at the foul snake's head, tearing it loose from his ankle. The barb ripped through his skin and muscle. Blood sprayed the backseat and shot across the car to splatter Izumo's chest.

"Don't touch the blood with you hands!" Sakura yelled. "Use a cloth, and get you jacket off now."

She clamped both of her hands over the wound, pressing hard, ignoring the burning pain as the blood coated her skin. She fought past her own fear and panic to reach for the calm, cool center deep inside her. Calling on the healing chakra, burning white-hot and pure, to counteract the acid of the snake blood. The way her birthmark was burning there had to be vampire blood mixed in the foul brew, as well.

Izumo ripped his jacket open and threw it away as the material smoldered.

Kago grew quiet as Sakura sent the healing chakra streaking through his body to the gaping wound in his leg. The bleeding slowed to a trickle and the tiny wormlike creatures retreated form the spreading heat Sakura generated. She cauterized the wound, destroying as many of the parasites as she could before bathing her hands and arms in the same burning pure white chakra.

"Did you get any blood on you, Izumo?" he shook his head. "I don't think so. It felt like it, but I wiped my hands and face and there aren't any smears."

"Once we get Kago to a healer, take a shower as soon as you can. And burn your clothes. Don't just wash them, burn them. Burn everything."

She backed out of the seat, helping Kago to swing his legs out of the way of the door so she could close it, and then rushing around to the driver's side. Kago's coloring was terrible, but not as bad as his breathing. Part of his distress could be shock, the shallow, too-fast breathing of panic, but she feared she hadn't stopped the parasites from assaulting his body. He needed a master healer immediately.

She drove as fast as she could over the narrow, pitted mountain road, sliding through some of the sharper turns and bumping over the muddy holes. Dirty water sprayed into the air as the car fishtailed through mud and snow. All around them, the peaceful countryside seemed a sharp contrast to their terror and desperation.

Haystacks and cows surrounded them. Small thatch roofed houses and horse-drawn carts with huge tires gave the impression of stepping back in time to a much simpler slower-paced and happier era. The castles and abundance of churches gave the area a medieval look, as if knight on horses might come charging over the hills at any moment.

Sakura had traveled all over the world searching for her past. She remembered little of her journey from the ice cave and once the gypsies had found her, she had traveled all over the continent. Passed from family to family, she had never been told where they'd found her. Coming to the Shanobi Mountains had been like coming home. And when she had entered Konoha, she _felt_ at home. This place was still wild, the forests untamed and the land alive beneath her feet.

The car slid around another corner and they were out of the heavier forest and into the peat bogs. The trail narrowed even more, winding on solid ground while the smell of the bog permeated the air around them. Trees swayed and drooped under the heavy weight of snow. Lights in the distance herald farms and for a moment she thought to stop at one of the nearest ones for aid, but Kago had been bitten by a mage-bred snake carrying vampire blood. Healing a mage wound was difficult enough, but a hybrid with vampire blood—that required skills far exceeding her own, or any human doctor for that matter.

Their one hope lay with the innkeepers. The couple had been born and raised in the area and had lived their entire lives here. Sakura couldn't imagine that they wouldn't have some knowledge of the danger lying beneath the mountain. Over time, it became difficult to tamper with the same memories. Besides there had been something about the inn—something that had drawn Sakura to it. A suggestion of power, as if perhaps there was subtle influence at work, encouraging tourists and visitors to stay at the homey, friendly inn.

Sakura had allowed herself to be susceptible to the flow of power because it was the first time since the dragon had shoved her onto the upper ledge of the ice cavern that she had encountered the light, delicate touch of flowing chakra. She had forgotten what it was like to bathe herself in the crackling flow of electric chakra, to feel it surrounding her, flowing through every cell until her body hummed with it. The inn and the entire village gave off the same amazing feeling, although it was so subtle she had nearly missed it.

"Sakura," Izumo called form the backseat. "My skin is starting to burn."

"We're almost there. Go in and take a shower first thing." She didn't want to think of how bad Kago was suffering. He was very quiet, other than making a soft moaning sound. "Izumo, when we get to the inn, we will need to talk to the owners and ask who the village healer is."

"The owner's name was Sakiumi and she seemed very nice."

"Hopefully she's very discreet as well. She certainly seems to know everyone."

"Wouldn't it be better to ask for the nearest doctor?" Izumo asked.

Sakura tired to sound casual as she replied. "Sometimes the local healers know more about plants and animals in the area. Although we've never encountered this particular species before, it's a good bet the villagers have, the local healer probably know exactly what to do to extract the poi--" She brook off and hastily changed her description. "Venom."

Sakura pulled the car up the twisting road to the inn on the edge of town. The large, two-story inn faced the forest with its long porch and inviting balconies. She parked as close to the stairs as she could and raced around to help Izumo get Kago out.

Shadows lengthened and grew as the clouds overhead thickened with the threat of snow. The wind howled and the trees swayed and rustled in protest. Sakura glanced around her with sharp, wary eyes as she opened the door to the back seat and reach for Kago.

"I'll come back for the snake heads to show the innkeeper. Don't touch them." She cautioned.

Kago was nearly deadweight as he hung between them. Izumo had to practically carry him as they stumbled through the snow. The walkway was clear, but they took a shortcut, tramping across the front slope to get to the porch faster.

A tall, light-haired man opened the door for them and reached to help. Even under the dire circumstances, Sakura found him handsome, compelling even.

"Don't get any blood on you," she warned. "It's highly venomous." The light-haired man's gaze swept up to her face and froze, locking on to her. For one moment there was shocked recognition in his eyes and then it was gone as he got his shoulder under Kago to relieve her of the weight.

Sakura whirled around, back toward the car. "Get him inside and ask the innkeeper to find a healer. I'll get the snake heads."

She rushed back down the steps, crossing the distance to the car at a run. As she yanked open the door, her birthmark began to burn hot against her skin. There was only one thing that brought forth the dragon's warning: _**Vampire**_. And he had to be close. She hastily donned her cloak to cover her weapons. She closed the door and carefully looked around her, one hand sliding beneath her thick red cloak to find the knife on her belt.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but the last two weeks have been hell. Gaara will be appearing in the next chapter so don't worry. And brownie points for anyone who can figure out who the light-haired man is.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or Dark Curse: a Carpathian novel.

**Dark Curse**

**Chapter Two:**

The night was bitter cold. He shouldn't be feeling it—Shinobi could easily regulate their body temperature—but he wanted feel the cold. It was a feeling, not an emotion, but it was something. The cold was sort of like bitterness, and bitterness was an emotion. That was likely the closet he would get to any sort of emotion before his death.

Sabaku no Gaara walked the length of the village with long, slow strides. He kept his face turned away from the passing people to prevent them from seeing his eyes. The normal jade color, he knew, had faded only to be replaced by a glowing golden hue. An icy feeling swirled in the pit of his stomach, and deep inside, where his soul should have been, only a small withered shadow remained—and that too was filled with holes. The centuries of hunting and killing his former comrades had long since taken their toll.

Gaara lifted his face to the swirling clouds as the wind blew, chilling him to the bone. This was his last night, he was done fighting. He had held fast through the centuries, hunted more of his fallen comrades than most, and tomorrow he would walk out into the sun, ending his long and barren existence.

He was to far from home for his family to stop him, in fact, they wouldn't sense his end until it was too late. He wondered how long it would take for the sun to burn him clean. A long time—he knew—with all the stains on his soul, but a least his brothers and sister wouldn't have to share the intense suffering of his last few moments.

He shivered as the wind blew harder, grateful that he could still feel physical sensations. Emotions, well he had lost those so long ago that they were a distant memory, maybe not even his memory. His sister and two brothers had found lifemates and had shared their new found emotions with him. In many ways their happiness made it so much harder to bare being so alone.

So, Gaara had decided to take one last walk through the village before his meeting with Naruto Uzumaki—Hokaga of the Shinobi people. He had traveled a great distance to deliver a warning message, however, he was no longer certain it was safe to meet face-to-face—especially in the close confines of the inn. Already he could hear the loud heartbeats, filling him with the need for rich, hot blood—sharp teeth pushed against the inside of his mouth as saliva gathered in anticipation of the feast.

It wouldn't take much to allow himself to taste—just for a moment, one last time—the hot rush of adrenaline-laced blood that would give him a glimpse of lost emotion. And a woman…He would love to feel a woman's soft skin, to inhale her scent, and pretend for a moment that he had someone who belonged to him. Someone who would look at him with love—genuine love—not that greedy glint that came the moment a woman knew of his material wealth.

If he could feel regret, it wouldn't be for the countless times he had destroyed an old friend, but for never truly needing a woman. He had never held a woman he loved in his arms and made her feel treasured, loved, worshipped. That would be his only true regret, never being loved or loving any one in return. The whispers in his mind grew stronger, tempting him with the things he had never known.

Women had always been attracted to his looks, his power, and his money. He had used them for sustenance, but he had never known what it was like to feel the pleasures a woman could bring his body, the peace she could offer his mind. One taste, just one. He could sink his teeth into soft skin and feel the flow of life, hear the quickening of her heart beating in tune with his. Life or death, he had that power.

Gaara's heart slammed hard in his chest. His body began to stir to life. He scented his prey. The fragrance beckoned to him, calling out from the beauty of the night. He had only to take that one last taste and he could experience everything—one last time—before the sun rose and burned him clean. He turned his head and there she was, standing in the shadows.

Her skin was pale and flawless, her hair pulled back in a long thick pony tail. Her eyes were wide, large and sparkling, almost glowing. She seemed to be waiting for someone. A man, perhaps? A low growl rumbled deep in his chest as he felt his body react to the thought of her with anyone else. As detached as he was from his actions, he found it all very interesting. He had never felt threatened by man, beast, or monster, yet looking at this young woman, he knew he would fight to the death for a chance to taste her blood, to feel the softness of her skin, to hear her heart match the rhythm of his.

For the first time in his life, he actually had erotic images of his own, and not drawn from someone else's mind. They rose up to taunt him, this woman writhing and moaning, pleading with him to give her everything. He wouldn't feel anything when he took her offering, but maybe, just maybe if he took her life at the same time, he would have that one moment…

Her head snapped around and her gaze locked on him. There wasn't that instant look in her eyes that he had come to expect—a woman spotting an attractive male. Instead, she looked like a predator, her gaze burning, mouth firm. Her body was all woman, dressed in layers of clothing, a high-necked dark green sweater with sleeves that covered her wrists. A pair of dark leggings that ran into knee high boots covered her shapely legs. A dark brown mini skirt clung to her small waist with a small black belt to hold it in place. And a long, warm, red cloak hung from her shoulders to just below her knees, completing her ensemble.

There was something familiar about her, as if they may have met before. And try as he might he simply could not look away from her. With women he always had the upper hand, drawing them to him with his looks and dangerous air, but he got the feeling this woman wasn't consumed with desire for him at all.

Again he had a visceral reaction deep in his gut, a need for her to want him. _Come to me now. Offer yourself to me. _There was shame in using the gift of his voice to enthrall and entrap her; it would have made the fantasy so much better to have her come to him on her own. Afterward he might even be able to convince himself that she had wanted him, but not like this, with compulsion.

Her body jerked, as her chin came up and her bright eyes smoldered. It was as if she _knew. _She began to walk toward him, as he moved deeper into the shadows, his heart pounding with need. He could already taste her, feel her soft skin sliding against his. His blood surged hotly at the thought.

She was of average height, so he was a least a head or so taller—but she had womanly curves and looked strong. She also moved with fluid grace, not the stumbling, halting movement of someone fighting a compulsion. For a moment the clouds parted and light spilled across her face, his gut knotted.

_Stop! Go back. Get inside._ He had to save her. His hands shook—actually shook—and damn him forever to hell, his body stirred, hot and hard and aching for her. Her life—her very soul as well as his—was in danger. But even as he warned her, he took a step towards her, wanting her, needing her. If he touched her, if he got too close, they would both be lost.

A frown flitted across her face. She pressed her palm to her body, and halted, looking confused.

Sakura stared hard at the tall man coming toward her. He was the most classically beautiful man she'd ever seen. His face was pure masculine beauty; his eyes were an enchanting jade green, yet when he turned a certain way they glowed like topaz, causing a chill to race down her spine. He moved with unbelievable grace, his body almost flowing, as ropes of muscles rippled subtly like a giant jungle cat on the prowl.

She didn't have reactions to men, no matter how hot they were, her body remained as cold and frigid as the ice chambers where she'd spent her childhood. Yet, looking at this man, everything changed, her breath quickened, her pulse raced, her stomach somersaulted, and even her womb reacted, clenching hotly. But so did her birthmark, and her birthmark heralded the arrival of one thing—_**vampire**_.

The problem was the mark seemed to have a short in it. One minute it burned with scorching heat and the next it went cold and lifeless. She had the blade of her knife up against her wrist, concealed by her long sleeve, the handle securely in her fist. She wasn't taking any chances, no matter how hot he was.

And then there was his voice, velvet soft, pure seduction. A night melody of dark promises, one minute beckoning, and the next repelling. The first time he'd spoken his command she had been certain he was a vampire, drawing her to him to feed from her. The next moment, however, he seemed to be trying to warn her off, yet he continued forward, his jade eyes drifting over her face as if he owned her.

Gaara couldn't stop walking toward her—as if he was the one under compulsion. He was going to have to call to Naruto for help to save her. But he was so far gone, it was possible he would engage the Hokaga in a battle over her. And Naruto couldn't be risked, not if their species was to survive.

_Go!_ He warned her once again, his voice low and firm, however he failed to bury the compulsion in his tone. As much as a part of him wanted to save her, the other part, the part standing off to the side, detached and greedy for that one moment of true life—of _feeling_ before he ended his existence—couldn't quite be noble enough to let her escape.

She turned her head, her gaze searching the shadows and rooftops for danger. He was almost on her when she turned back to him. Up close she was so beautiful, breathtaking really. Her skin looked exquisite, and her scent was faint and alluring, drawing him in. He felt as if he were in a trance, if that were even possible for one such as him.

His fingers circled her wrist like a bracelet, light yet as unbreakable as steel. She moved then, whirling around, into him, her elbow connecting with his sternum. Gaara barely felt the blow, though if he were human he was certain he would have. Suddenly he locked his arms around her and buried his face in the thick mass of her hair. It was soft, heaven.

The blood in her veins ebbed and flowed like the tide, pounding through her, letting him know that they were alive. Not existing, but living.

The whispers in his head turned into a possessive roar, this one was his and his alone. He didn't hesitate, lowering his face to her shoulder, and nuzzling the sweater aside to expose the soft flesh of her neck and the pounding pulse there. He made no effort to calm her, or put her under a compulsion. The adrenaline in her blood would heighten the experience, as he sank his teeth deep into her flesh and took the essence of her being deep within him.

"Let go of me, you bastard." Sakura snapped, shocked at the sudden pain, and that after all those years of swearing to herself that no one would ever—_**ever**_—take her blood by force again, she was locked in the arms of a vampire.

Rage swept through her, shook her, and took her by surprise. She had never been so angry in all her life. And yet, after the initial bite, the dark, erotic sensation made some part of her want to succumb to that fire and heat—to give her life to him.

Clenching her teeth, she fought the sensation of need and desire pulsing through her body. She wouldn't give in or go that easily. She had no idea a vampire could be so cunning. One minute triggering an alarm, the next warning her off and then the bite.

She gripped the knife in her fist and tried to get a little room in order to move her hand toward his ribs. But she was facing away from him and it was difficult to feel where he was when lightning sizzled and crackled in her veins, robbing her of her ability to think.

Gaara was so far gone in the ecstasy of her taste and shape that it took a moment to register that she had spoken. _**Let go of me, you bastard**_. The words echoed in his mind, burst through his subconscious and took hold of his heart.

Emotion flooded him with dizzying speed. Fast, sharp and jumbled so that it was impossible to sort anything out. The love he felt for his brothers and sister speared into his heart and mind. Anger and rage that he had been following an honorable path yet had been so close to turning. Shame for the sins he had yet to confess to the Hokaga—sins wrongfully committed against the leader of their people. Not in action, but in the hearts and minds of Gaara and his siblings. Joy, for the woman in his arms who had saved him from a fate that would have dishonored not only him, but his family as well.

So much to try to sort out all at once and all the while his body was hard and hurting, his groin so full and thick the material of his clothes caused physical pain. He wanted her, needed her. He had to have her; the taste of her was unlike anything he had ever experienced. This woman was his lifemate. The woman he had searched for across several continents, the woman he had spent centuries looking for, the only woman who could restore his emotions.

He opened his eyes and her hair swirled into his vision. There in the darkness it shown a petal pink, but as he watched, his eyes played tricks on him, so that waves of silver glowed in metallic streaks. He couldn't find the strength or will to pull away from her, to stop the sweet fire sliding down his throat, tying them together in the way of his people. Somewhere, far off, he could hear his own mind screaming at him that he was losing his mind, that he had found her too late and that he was killing her. But even so he couldn't stop.

Pain ripped through his left side, startling him out of his trancelike state. He jerked his head up without swiping his tongue across the twin pinpricks at her pulse to close the wound. Blood trickled down her neck into the leafy tones of her sweater. He could see the garment, a dazzling color with hues of green and gold, with red drops scattering and pooling in the thread.

Color, after centuries with nothing but shades of grey, he saw beautiful, amazing color.

Gaara looked down at his side to where the pain came from, only to see the handle of a knife sticking out of his ribs. Sakura stepped back away from Gaara and spun to face him. Her eyes were twin jewels, burning bright, a deep emerald, not just green, but actual emerald. Even as he watched, the color swirled and changed, going from deep green to arctic blue, the color of the ice glaciers, clean, pure and ice-cold, but burning with intensity and fire.

Gaara smiled at her. "**I claim you as my lifemate**"

His voice was low, a dark seduction that slid over her senses, like velvet playing over her skin, arousing her. Sakura had heard those words before, long ago when the aunts sang her to sleep. They sang of a great love story. A man—as dark as sin, a woman—as bright as light, and how only that woman could save him from an honorable death, or the most horrible fate of becoming a vampire. She had the power to restore his lost emotions, to restore bright and beautiful color to his world. The love story had been the one beautiful thing in her life and she had clung to it, needing something to hang onto.

**I claim you as my lifemate.** The words were so beautiful, so connecting she could feel them echo in her heart and mind. They had been the words in her story and she had dreamt of them, thought them romantic. But the man in the story hadn't been so seductively beautiful and so utterly dangerous, and he certainly hadn't taken his lady's blood without permission. It was wrong, a violation that she would _not_ permit.

"**I belong to you. I offer you my life**." As he spoke in that perfectly calm, soft voice, he gripped the handle of the knife and yanked it from his body. Blood gushed down side, as he held the weapon out to her, handle first.

Sakura swallowed hard, raising her gaze from the wound to his face. There was no anger. No expression at all, just a strange serenity that shook her to the core. She moistened her suddenly dry lips and reached out to take the knife. Her fingertips gently brushed his sending electricity sizzling up her arm. He merely opened his arms wide, presenting his heart as a target.

His teeth flashed white in the darkness. "**I give you my protection. I give you my allegiance. I give you my heart. I give you my soul. I give you my body**."

She realized he wasn't talking figuratively, but literally. He was offering to stand there while she drove a knife into his heart and took his life. This was no vampire. She had no real idea of what he was, but the words he was uttering were in the Shinobi language, a language as ancient as her aunts had been. And the words were a ritual that bound two halves of the same soul together. She had never believed in that love story, not truly, even though she knew the kinds of things that could be wrought with elements and chakra. But as he spoke each word in that soft, seductive tone, his jade eyes glittering with possession and absolute determination, she could feel the ties between them forging like steel.

"Are you crazy insane? Don't stand there like an idiot. You need to stop the bleeding."

His eyes never left her face. "**I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life will be cherished by me for all time**."

She flung her head up, her bound hair whipping across her shoulder, glacier blue eyes crackling and glittering with anger. "Really, is this what you call cherishing me?" She pressed a hand to her neck where the blood continued to trickle. "You _took_ from me without permission. Without one thought to how I might feel."

All the while she reprimanded him, her gaze kept dropping to the blood pooling at his side. He had to stop it. If he was Shinobi—and she was sure he was—he could close the wound on his own and keep his life's essence from flowing away.

"**Your life will be placed above my own for all time**." His expression didn't change. He kept his arms outstretched, presenting her with the fatal target. His jade gaze never left her face. His expression was that of absolute serenity, although his eyes blazed with a dark possession.

Fury shook her. "You won't have a life if you don't heal yourself."

"**You are my lifemate. You are bound to me for all eternity. You are always in my care**."

She hissed out her breath, teeth snapping together. "You don't just get to claim me and think it's all going to work out. Not when you've taken my blood without my consent." Her heart was pounding as she watched his life ebbing away. "Do something."

"It is not my choice. Life or death is the choice of my lifemate. If you reject my claim, then you are condemning me and I willingly die by your hand."

Her blue eyes were twin chips of burning ice. "Oh no, don't you dare blame your death on me." But she was already springing towards him, unable to stop herself. Her throat nearly closed with fear as she clamped both hands over the wound on his side. She wanted to shake him, literally just grab him and shake him until he saw how utterly ridiculous he was being.

So much for her romantic love story. "You might be the hottest man in the village, but you brain is about the size of a pea." she muttered under her breath. "Close the wound. I don't have that kind of power."

"Then it is life you choose for me?" His voice was enough to make a woman want to strip and jump him, and the effect he had on her annoyed her more than anything else ever had.

"You deserve to die just for being so stupid." She snapped, but she didn't let go of his side, instead she pressed tighter, making sure to clamp down and prevent further bleeding. "Now heal yourself, damn it."

He gave a slight, old-world bow. "As you wish."

That voice was a pure, dark seduction that caused her body to tingled, and her breasts to ache. But she most certainly didn't want him touching her, or running his intense jade gaze possessively over her body.

She could hear his heart matching the rhythm of hers. The air flowing in and out of his lungs in tune with hers, a soft sigh that mingled their breath together. Everything feminine in her, everything she was, Shinobi, mage and human, rose up to meet the male in him.

"I wish for you to get yourself some psychological help. You can't seem to decide whether you're a vampire or a hunter." She replied, deliberately injecting scorn into her voice.

Still his expression didn't change. He didn't even blink, but she'd scored a hit. They were connected now, all those unbreakable threads she'd felt between them allowed her to read his emotions and gave her an insight to the predator she was prodding.

He didn't move, yet somehow he was closer, much closer, his body pressing against the small palms of her hands where her were buried into his side. "Have no fears, my mate, I have decided."

She didn't like the sound of that—the soft purring in his voice that sounded more like a threat than a reassurance. She felt the heat suddenly bursting from his body; saw the flash of white light glowing around her hands. His flesh grew hot, although it didn't burn her, merely cleaned the blood from her skin. She dropped her hands abruptly and stepped away from him, looking up at his incredible face.

His body up close was too masculine, too strong, too everything. Wide shouldered, solid—he looked invincible—even though she'd managed to get a knife into him. She swallowed her fear and took another step back.

"I have to go." She said quickly

"We go together. You cannot pretend I have not claimed you and that you did not reject me. You chose life for me. Our souls are one."

Sakura frowned. She had a vague idea of the ritual binding words from the story her aunts had told her. The words were imprinted on the male before birth. Once uttered, they bound two souls together so one could not survive without the other once the ritual was complete. She didn't know what the rest of the ritual was, but if it involved sex with this man, then she really wasn't up to the task.

She tilted her head and looked at him with a cool steady gaze. She didn't feel cool or steady, but she wanted him to understand her—to know that if she'd ever been serious about anything in her life, this was it. "I know very little about you traditions or culture. Just stories my aunts told me when I was a child, but no matter what you've done to tie us together, know this: I don't know you. I don't love you. I don't care anything at all about you. I spent the first years of my life a prisoner and I will never—_never_—allow anyone to imprison me again. If you try to take anything from me by force, if you try to break my will or manipulate my mind, I will fight you till the last breath leaves my body. So you make up _your_ mind—choose life or death for us."

His eyes darkened, glittering with a sensual lust that burned through her body. He cupped her chin with gentle fingers and bent his head slowly. Mesmerized, she couldn't pull herself away. She could see the kanji Ai tattooed above his left eye partially hidden by his crimson locks, the long length of his lashes, the straight nose of an aristocrat, and the mouth sinfully carnal, but stamped with the mark of a man who could be cruel.

Her breath caught as his crimson locks brushed her face. She felt his mouth on her neck. Hot, burning, his velvet soft tongue rasped over the twin pinpricks at her frantically beating pulse, stopping the tempting trickle of her blood.

_I choose life for us._

The words slid into her mind like a caress. She moistened her lips as he straightened to his full height. "Fine then, we understand each other." She turned to go back to the inn—to safety, because no matter what this man agreed to, she knew she wasn't safe with him and it wasn't entirely his fault.

Once more his fingers settled around her wrist like a bracelet, warm and unbreakable. He stroked the pads of his fingers against the bare skin of her inner wrist, halting her. "I do not think you quite understand me and I would not want you to later say you were ignorant of all the facts."

Sakura turned back reluctantly. "I'm listening."

"You are the one woman—the only woman—_my woman._ This is something I take very seriously. Your health, your safety and your happiness. I will see to these things, but I will not share you. I will not allow others to interfere in our relationship. _No one_, be them man or woman. If you have a problem with something, you tell me. If you are afraid of something, you tell me."

"I don't know you. And I don't trust that easily."

"I did not say it would be easy. I just want you to understand who I am."

She couldn't push down the rising panic. She saw him for exactly what he was. A predator. A hunter. A man who made decisions and expected those around to follow his lead. Already the ritual words had bound them together, and she could feel the pull of him on her mind—even on her body.

Sakura let her breath out slowly. "I don't share my blood."

His lips curved into a smile. She caught a brief glimpse of his white teeth and then that predatory smile was gone and he once again wore a face carved from stone. "I noticed."

Color rose in her cheeks. "I have to get back inside. I have a friend who is hurt. Maybe you can help him. You obviously know about healing."

All warmth leeched from his eyes. "You friend is male?"

She shivered, suddenly cold. "Yes. I came with two colleagues. We're doing research nearby and we are staying here."

"What kind of research?" There was a bite to his tone, a note of suggestion.

Now her entire body was blushing, and the nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach annoyed her to no end. She was trying to establish herself as someone to be taken seriously, yet each time she looked at him something inside her seemed to melt.

He scared the hell out of her. She had faced monsters, and she hadn't been as afraid as she was at the moment. This man had permanently changed her, and he just stood there calm and resolute looking at her with possessive eyes and a mouth that was so fascinating, she could barely tear her gaze away. But he didn't fool her; she knew he was one of the most dangerous creatures living on the earth.

"Well, it's hard to explain. Mostly we do sexual research. You know, sex in every culture passed down through time." She answered, in a nonchalant voice.

"Very funny." He growled

"You deserved it. You had that tone."

"I had a tone?" he asked, with a raised brow.

She swept her green gaze over him and began walking back toward the inn, very aware of him pacing beside her with the silent stride of a jungle cat. "Actually, I explore caves and lately I've been researching life forms that live within ice caves." There was an edge of haughtiness in her voice. "So answer my question: Do you know much about healing? Or do you know someone who does? We were attacked by a hybrid—part plant, part snake—and very venomous."

He caught her elbow and brought her to a halt. "Did it bite you?" He was already running his hands up and down her arms, tilting her head this way and that. And then she felt the thrust of his mind against hers.

It was such a shock, the sheer intimacy of his mind merging with hers. There was nothing at all soft about him. He could erupt into violence with swift efficiency. When she had thought him one of the most dangerous creatures on earth, she hadn't even come close to understanding the killing machine that he was, yet he hid nothing from her. He didn't attempt to pretend to be anything different than he was, and she saw that he could. He could have appeared gentle and sweet, but he gave her the respect of showing her exactly who and what she was dealing with.

Sakura inhaled sharply. Her aunts had told her Shinobi were powerful. They had presented them as heroic, hunters of the vampires, protectors of human and mage alike. Still she was unprepared for the ruthless, merciless mind of the hunter. And he was beyond the most arrogant man she'd ever known.

She couldn't prevent the tremor of awareness or the little shiver of fear. The heat of his body enveloping her, warming her, driving out the cold of the night when she had forgotten to regulate her temperature. She attempted to retreat, slamming down the barriers in her mind. She had always been powerful, but it had been years since she'd had to utilize her abilities to conceal her mind from any other and she was slow and rusty.

"There is no need to hide yourself form me." Gaara said. Not only was her body shivering, but her mind as well. He had triggered a well of fear, tapped into some long-ago memories of someone close to her who had misused and abused her trust. "I cannot lie to you, nor do I attempt to access what you will not give me freely. I look only for parasites and wounds. The snakes are more deadly than you can know."

She let her breath out, somewhat relieved. He hadn't examined her memories of that lost little girl. He didn't know who she was or what she was. There was always power in knowledge and she trusted no one—least of all a man who could make her body come alive when she had been frozen for so many years. She didn't trust anything that happened fast, or that walked in an ancient land of enormous power.

"The snakes injected venom into my friend. There were tiny parasitic organisms in the venom and the blood of the snakes burned like acid." As she spoke, she moved away from him, a delicate feminine retreat.

Gaara wanted to smile, and he didn't smile easily. Hadn't smiled in five hundred years, but her girly reaction when she was trying to be a fierce warrior was so cute. _Cute_. He had never understood that word before. He'd heard it a thousand times but had no real concept of the meaning until that moment. Instincts told him she wouldn't appreciate being considered cute when she thought of herself as fierce, so he kept his observation to himself.

She was shorter than most Shinobi women, barely coming up to his shoulders, but her body was all feminine curves. She considered herself overweight—he'd caught that small bit of information before he narrowed the flow of information to specifics. He didn't understand that either. She was perfect, but then he would have thought her perfect no matter what she had looked like. How could he not? She had restored his life, his very soul. He could feel real love for his siblings. He could feel real honor and a sense of duty to his people. She had turned a bleak, gray world into a dazzling wonderland. She was the epitome of beauty to him with her classic bone structure and the jeweled eyes of the Dragonseeker line.

Power crackled in her. This was no shy, retiring maiden, but a warrior prepared to fight him at every turn. She didn't know he had already won the battle. She was part Shinobi and her nature would draw her to him. The pull between them would grow over time and he would make absolutely certain that he was by her side while time worked its magic on her.

"Stop staring at me like that." She snapped, walking faster.

He kept pace easily. "I had no idea I was staring in any particular way." He said innocently.

There was joy in the night as well as breathtaking beauty. He marveled that he could feel it, see it, and be one with it. The heavy clouds formed whimsical shapes, drifting overhead with the helpful push of the wind. The village breathed, hearts beating, children's laughter ringing out. Why hadn't he heard those sounds before? Sounds of life and love. Fathers murmuring, mothers calling, children playing. He had lost the magic of life over the centuries and now it was there flooding his senses.

Her yes flashed at him. Green again. Green was her normal color, a dazzling emerald her pink hair made deeper. Glacier blue was her power color then. There was satisfaction I discovering that small fact about her. He wanted to know everything about her all at once, but he had learned long ago the lesson of patience and it had served him well for hundreds of years. Time would reveal her secrets to him and each moment spent with her—finding out the little things, the intimacies of her true self—would bring him joy.

He even enjoyed the unrelenting ache she brought to his body. It was another sign of being alive—of living and breathing and sharing his world with her. His soul had been so dark, so damaged, and though his inability to feel emotion had kept the pain, guilt and shame at bay, it also kept away true life.

"You are a miracle to me. Maybe that is what you are seeing in my stare. Sheer wonder." He kept his expression calm, not allowing his joy to overwhelm her, but he did inject the dark seduction of black velvet into his voice so that it caressed her skin and slid deeper into her body, lighting little electrical sparks from breast to feminine channel.

She stopped so abruptly in the open doorway of the inn that he nearly ran into her.

A/N: I sincerely hope your enjoying the story so far. I know I haven't been meticulous with my updates, but that is only because this story is complicated. At times it can be hard to follow so if at any point you have trouble understanding something just send me a message and I'll try my best to explain. I also hope to have the Shinobi family tree link put up on my profile soon so that might help somewhat. Till next time, Sayonara


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